A Virginia county GOP committee used an image of President Obama with a bullet through his head to make a Halloween joke.

An email sent by the Loudoun County GOP that included an image of Obama as a zombie has been widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike. “We are going to vanquish the zombies with clear thinking conservative principles and a truckload of Republican candy,” says the email, which served as an invitation to a Halloween parade.

The image of the President was created from a copyrighted AP photo of Obama in 2006.

The apology:

“The Loudoun County Republican Committee yesterday sent an email to its members that represented a light-hearted attempt to inject satire humor into the Halloween holiday,” Sell says in a statement. “Apparently, some individuals have interpreted an image of Barack Obama that appeared within the email as intending to portray the president as a victim of a violent crime. Nothing could be further from the truth, and we deeply and sincerely apologize to the president and anyone who viewed the image if that was the impression that was left. The LCRC deplores any effort to display, suggest or promote violence against the president or any other political figure.”